This invention relates generally to the field of controls for coin actuated appliances and more particularly to utilizing a microcontroller with coin receiving apparatus for operating at least a pair of coin actuated appliances and wherein the microcontroller accumulates purchased time which may be transferred to a selected appliance by actuation of cycle selection means for that appliance.
The prior coin actuated control systems have included the use of a centralized coin operated mechanism for operating a plurality of commercial washing machines from a single location such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,107 issued on Jan. 29, 1963 to Johnston. When a coin is inserted a washer may be actuated by pushing a switch button at the remote location for energizing a low voltage relay to close a set of contacts for energizing a high voltage solenoid to actuate the self-contained timer for a particular washing machine.
Prior coin actuated control systems for commercial fabric dryers have also included use of a microcontrollerbased control in combination with coin receiving apparatus but only for operating a single dryer.
Cotton, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,778, issued Apr. 16, 1985 and assigned to the assignee of the instant invention, discloses a control wherein a single microcontroller controls the operation of a plurality of associated appliances. The associated appliances are operable independently or concurrently. Cotton does not provide for time accumulation and transfer of accumulated time to a selected appliance.
There have thus been shown systems directed to a centralized single coin mechanism for operating a plurality of commercial appliances, to the use of a microcontroller-based system for controlling operation of individual commercial fabric dryers, and to a control system wherein a single microcontroller is utilized for controlling operation of a plurality of associated appliances either independently or concurrently. There has been no known showing, however, of a control for coin actuated appliances wherein a microcontroller is used in conjunction with a coin receiver to accumulate or total the time value of coins inserted and with subsequent assignment of that time value to a selected appliance.